Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has conducted international comparisons on the definition of low hours to inform how the threshold for low hours is set and the reference periods used to calculate guaranteed hours for temporary and agency workers.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The definition of the hours threshold and the length and frequency of reference periods will depend on the outcome of the forthcoming consultation on the details of the measures to end exploitative zero hours contracts.
We have considered international examples of employment rights in developing this consultation. Many countries have taken steps to restrict or prohibit zero-hours contracts altogether. For example, New Zealand and Norway have banned their use, while Ireland allows them only in limited circumstances, and both the Netherlands and Finland require employers to offer contracts on equivalent terms to workers who regularly work a consistent shift pattern.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, under the provisions of the Employment Rights Bill, in what circumstances will responsibility for providing guaranteed hours to an agency worker default from the end hirer to the employment agency.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government will consult on the details of the measures to end exploitative zero hours contracts to inform regulations. Decisions on the circumstances in which regulations might place the duty to offer agency workers guaranteed hours on the agency or another intermediary in the supply chain, as opposed to the end hirer, will depend on the outcome of this consultation.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he has made an assessment of how reasonable notice periods may vary for agency workers in sectors that require high levels of flexibility or short notice.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government understands that what should be considered reasonable notice will differ depending on different sectors and circumstances. Regulations will specify how much notice should be ‘presumed reasonable’ as well as other factors that should be considered when determining whether the notice was reasonable or not, as opposed to setting a single notice period to be deemed reasonable in all cases. Decisions on these regulations will depend on the outcome of the forthcoming consultation on the details of the measures to end exploitative zero hours contracts.